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Topic: Advice please (Read 1066 times)

Purpose. To power the house during daylight hours. The area allows grid tie/ feed. No need to do it immediately but the option should be catered for. The house has a 6 KVA generator so no need to cater for outages which almost never happen. I will be happy initially if a system can replace all power used during daylight hours which still means powering aircons and lights at night. The household uses approx. 1000 kWh a month as an annual average, less in winter (no aircons) and when unoccupied. Water is already solar heated and all cooking is gas. Lights are CFL or led but a lot as a large house and garden. Tariffs are high @ approx. ZAR 4.00 ($ 0.23) per unit and also a staggered tariff. A proper analysis of power consumption will be carried out. House is 3 phase.

Location: Mauritius. This means average 7-8 hours a day strong sunlight, high temps, high humidity and close to sea. Thus panel quality is NB. House is flat roof with plenty of space. Latitude is 20 deg S so not much seasonal variation in sun angle. Location also means not many qualified installers and most products available are low-end Chinese. Luckily I do have access to a highly qualified person to do install and fix if necessary. It also means components will have to be imported likely from South Africa which is the closest source of supply if any component fails and needs replacing quickly. However, this adds to cost significantly.

System. Given the operating environment one is looking for a) simplicity and b) robust components. From reading it seems an AC system is likely the best for the future using micro inverters as any failure in a panel may take time to get repaired. There is also the suggestion from some commentators that built-in inverters are better in hot climates

Given the above, what components, apart from panels, would be needed to start off? Any suggestions as to brand (especially with built-in inverters) also very welcome. Given the source of supply makes like ABB who produce in S Africa spring to mind. Would assume panels such as LG would be also be available?

Solar is a serious investment and one you’ll be living with for a long time – so it’s important you engage a competent solar panel installer. You may have purchased the best equipment money can buy, but it will not achieve its full electricity generation potential if it is installed incorrectly – and the array may even be dangerous.